Troglodyte Posted December 7, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 7, 2012 I understand what he's trying to say, in the main. But that's just a general point: life is mostly easier when you're young and you don't have 'adult' worries and responsibilities. However, he's dug himself into a hole by bringing money into it. If course, money does not equal happiness, but it's stuff like this that I take exception to: Why do people think cos I earn good money I don't have bills to pay we all pay tax an we have mortgages to pay, some people are deluded What is that supposed to mean? To me, it seems as though he's suggesting that he still has to worry about these aspects of life, as someone that isn't earning 'good money' may do. No matter what he spends, it's a ridiculous statement, particularly when adding that those who don't understand are 'deluded'. People have to worry about losing their homes, and tax changes may have a large impact on their life and leave them with little or no money to purchase essentials. Jamie O'Hara may have taken out a mortgage on a crazily expensive house, have a fleet of expensive cars, and be supporting a wife with expensive tastes, but in even slightly and indirectly drawing comparisons between himself and people who really do have to stress about their mortgage and taxes he is opening himself up to all kinds of abuse. If he sticks to making a point about life being emotionally easier when he was 17, fine. He'd still be ridiculed by some but many would understand if he added that this is no different despite the fact he is extremely well-paid. However, quotes like that above are what will really grate on most people, I reckon. He quickly goes from making a fair point about life, and saying that it still applies no matter how rich he is, to sounding like a typical overpaid bell-end who is massively out of touch with the real world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted December 9, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 9, 2012 The average NBA player takes home on the order of $5 million a year (before endorsements) over an average career of about 5 years, so $25 million in lifetime earnings. About half of all NBA players file for bankruptcy within 5 years of retirement. ESPN did an interesting documentary about this earlier this year entitled Broke, which may be worth "acquiring". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seat68 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Well you know what Johnny Cash said? Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RunRickyRun Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 The average NBA player takes home on the order of $5 million a year (before endorsements) over an average career of about 5 years, so $25 million in lifetime earnings. About half of all NBA players file for bankruptcy within 5 years of retirement. ESPN did an interesting documentary about this earlier this year entitled Broke, which may be worth "acquiring". There's a big discrepancy between the high earners and low earners in American sports though - much higher than Premier League footballers (where average players can still take home 40k a week (thanks Martin)). I'd imagine if you're a low draft pick earning a small but decent wedge, it would be easy to blow the lot while trying to match the lifestyles of your more well paid team mates. It's also a much shorter career (for average players) and it's harder to drop down a level while still earning big money (there are Championship clubs who still pay high wages). I think it's probably dawned on O'Hara that his next contract wont be so big and maybe not enough to honour all his financial commitments. He could lose the lot in a few years time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Financial advice has to be on offer to all of these players via their clubs though (not just footballers, but all highly paid athletes) and I find it astonishing that with so many examples of players who simply ran out of money after a year or two of being off the big bucks that the current generation still chose to ignore the warnings. This is the average wage of a player according to the Daily Mail, and that is going to take another huge jump when the new TV deal goes live next year. Even the young lads in our team like Barry Bannan and Ashley Westwood will probably earn a million pounds this season. Footballers be looking to make themselves secure for life before anything else, then they can worry about having a different car for every day of the week. Dont write too many cheques based on future earnings, a relegation or a serious injury can really **** you over. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 9, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 9, 2012 Well you know what Johnny Cash said? Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money. Yep. Life ain't easy for a Boy Named Sue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted December 9, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 9, 2012 Financial advice has to be on offer to all of these players via their clubs though (not just footballers, but all highly paid athletes) and I find it astonishing that with so many examples of players who simply ran out of money after a year or two of being off the big bucks that the current generation still chose to ignore the warnings. This is the average wage of a player according to the Daily Mail, and that is going to take another huge jump when the new TV deal goes live next year. Even the young lads in our team like Barry Bannan and Ashley Westwood will probably earn a million pounds this season. Footballers be looking to make themselves secure for life before anything else, then they can worry about having a different car for every day of the week. Dont write too many cheques based on future earnings, a relegation or a serious injury can really **** you over. Financial literacy is generally nonexistent. In general, everyone learns by the school of hard knocks. For most, this isn't a huge problem: your wages tend to rise as you accumulate experience etc. until you're in your 40s or 50s, which is when you're more able to deal with it than when you were younger. Everyone can point to poor money decisions they made in their 20s, I think: maybe it's buying a car that you couldn't really afford, or spending a week's pay in one night at a strip club. The difference for an athlete is that the wages peak really high at a fairly young age (in how many other fields are you considered old at 30?) and then go to more or less nothing. So those normal mistakes get magnified. On top of that, remembering that sports is probably the most objectively meritocratic culture out there, those athletes got where they were precisely because they were pretty much always better than everybody else and that breeds a sense of invincibility, so you could tell them that, chances are, within a few years of their last game, that they will at least as likely as not, be broke and divorced and every one of them will say "that's not going to happen to me," and ignore it. Pretty much every interviewee in the documentary said that they didn't realize what was happening/had happened until they found a bank balance below a half-million. For some it was a half-million balance, for others, it was zero. Is there anything like sports in those respects? Popular music might be the closest, but at least there, once you've made a certain amount of money, you've got an income stream that can be tapped for decades to come (nostalgia tours, reissues, etc.). There's lottery winners, too, but they generally haven't built up the sense of invincibility. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDon Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 There's lottery winners, too, but they generally haven't built up the sense of invincibility. Yet many of them still go broke pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimzk5 Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Yet many of them still go broke pretty quickly. Lottery wins are different, from being stone broke 1 minute to winning 4,5,6 million, but imagine the people who then take a big intrest in you, that bloke you work with turns up asking for a few grand to pay off his mortgage, the extended family you hardly see turning up, you could definatly see why some lotto winners go mad and lose it in a few years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted December 9, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 9, 2012 Yet many of them still go broke pretty quickly. Right, the point was that you'd see less go broke as quickly as athletes do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CI Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Yet many of them still go broke pretty quickly. Divorce, clingers on, failed investment schemes and all out debauchery clears most of them out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 I remember reading about Obafemi Martins going bankrupt whilst at Newcastle on £75,000 a week, one comment that was mentioned in court was The revelations marked the start of a bitter legal battle between the player and his former management company, as it was claimed that he regularly withdrew £40,000 at weekends and a further £25,000 the following Monday Incredible Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted December 10, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted December 10, 2012 "Withdrew"? Or "spent"? Can't believe he walked around with the cash in his pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coda Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 How the hell do you spend that much on a weekend in Newcastle? It's a lot of bottles of Newky Brown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Sometimes I can't even comprehend how someone could go broke with the kind of wages footballers are earning. But then you read things like the posts on this thread and it makes sense. You'd think that the first thing players do when signing a contract worth thousands of dollars a week would be to see a financial planner or someone like that to organise their money properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted December 11, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 11, 2012 Yes Jamie. Some people are deluded Jamie. Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethRDR Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Sometimes I can't even comprehend how someone could go broke with the kind of wages footballers are earning. But then you read things like the posts on this thread and it makes sense. Or things like this... clicky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Or things like this... clicky. I bet he didn't buy them, either Nike or a local jeweller would have footed the bill (see what I did there?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentVilla Posted December 12, 2012 Moderator Share Posted December 12, 2012 Haven't we been linked with him? If so I can't imagine Lambert signing someone like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omariqy Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Interestingly enough I'm starting to do a lot of work with football clubs about educating young football players about their finances. Particularly how best to plan for life after football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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